Is this Correct? New York Requires Voter Registration in 2 days or NO VOTE FOR YOU!?

I was reading through my social media news just now and came across this article on The New York City Campaign Finance Board's website which states you must be registered with a party, or if changing your party registration, have it done before Oct. 9th 2015 In order to be able to vote in the primary. If not you will be ineligible to vote in 2016 Primary election? This seems insane to me, I am not from New York but did live there for a couple of years while growing up. This is not a hate on America, I like it there, but this seems nuts. This is basically forcing people to decide now for or against a candidate you will be voting for in Apr. 2016? How is one meant to even know for sure yet? The democratic debates haven't even started?

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Too soon, you say? Common sense might agree with you, but not state election law. New York voters face an October 9 deadline to be eligible to cast a ballot in party primary elections next year. Any registered voter who currently is not enrolled in a party will not be able to participate in the primary elections next year if they miss this deadline. This applies to voters who leave the political party line blank or indicate that they do not wish to enroll in a party. Likewise, registered voters who are enrolled in a party but want to change their party enrollment will need to do so by October 9 for the change to take effect in 2016. For instance, voters enrolled in the Working Families or Conservative parties who want to vote for a candidate vying for the Democratic or Republican presidential nomination must change their party enrollment before Friday. - New York City Campaign Finance Board.

Is this commonplace? I mean party affiliation and all but what if something happens? What if the candidate you THOUGHT you would vote for drops out?

Link :www.nyccfb.info...

a reply to: tiredoflooking

I do recall I had to register to one party or another if I want to vote in the primary but I don't remember that also applying to the presidential vote, but I already registered so i could vote in the primary so I guess it didn't matter at that point. It is dumb I have to be apart of a party in order to vote because I dislike Democrats and Republicans equally.

I didn't realize the deadline was so soon... thanks for the heads up!

a reply to: tiredoflooking

Off the top, I can see one benefit.

It forces a choosing of which party one considers himself a member of. In your case, being undecided on which party to support, it forces a decision on your part.

In most cases, I'd guess most have already chosen which party they prefer. This way fake membership is negated from primary voting for the express purpose of manipulation of the 'other sides' results.

I'm just guessing though.....

a reply to: Swills

Yes I originally thought it was for the Presidential, my Title reads that way but it is just for the primaries, still... crazy no? Anyone who is sleeping on the job is going to get left out, not a good thing especially with candidates concerned Spread the word!

a reply to: nwtrucker

Yes I suppose it is true it just seems to be a crazy amount of time ahead, like the deadline has quietly moved up without people knowing. I guess that is typical sneaky political behavior.

Usually the limit to register and/or sign up is posted well in advance. Addressing the OP , see if you can find out when the end date was posted.

So you have to decide which party you want to vote for before going into the booth? and tell them before hand?.

a reply to: boymonkey74
No , you can register as Independent or any party (or not affiliated) . Or , if you are a registered voter, just show up at the booths.Has nothing at all to do with party affiliation.

Its just a lot of US voters feel better about voting if they are registered on the roster of their favorite team . After all ,its just a game,

a reply to: Gothmog

Cannot seem to see this article was only posted Oct. 7th. It is just for the primaries but it seems sneaky to me still,

""If it seems odd to be required to make this choice so early, it is. According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, New York has the earliest change-of-party deadline among the 11 states with a closed primary system. In fact, New York is the only state in the group where the deadline does not even fall in the same calendar year as the primary.

Why is the deadline so early? New York’s election law requires voters to change their party enrollment prior to the registration deadline for the general election in November in the year preceding a primary election. The deadline also applies to the other party nominating contests that will be held in June and September for Congressional and state legislative offices, respectively.

This provision forces many voters to make a critical choice in how they’ll vote well before many of them have had a chance to tune into the race. Republican candidates have held only two of the 11 debates they have scheduled and the Democratic candidates will debate for the first time on October 13, four days after the deadline.

So, if you want to participate in New York’s primary elections next year, check your enrollment status and file your registration form TODAY!"

- See more at: www.nyccfb.info...

a reply to: tiredoflooking

Naw , I am in Georgia where the "sane" politicians outnumber the rest. (at least for now)

a reply to: Gothmog
are you in Huckabee country?? Sane? ok,look at the shiny bible....

a reply to: tiredoflooking

So far as I can tell, this is all correct. If you're going to vote in the primary election in New York in 2016, you need to register with a party by October 9th.

Good luck!

a reply to: links234

Is this commonplace? I mean party affiliation and all but what if something happens? What if the candidate you THOUGHT you would vote for drops out?

First: the Primary is run by the state on behalf of the party. If a party wants a primary, that is the party's business. Funding the election itself is different from state to state, I believe it is generally it is a mixture of public and party funds. The advantage of public funding for the party's internal candidate selection process is that the election workers get to practice before the real thing happens.

Second: there is nothing in the registration deadline that says you have to pick a candidate or even positively decide to vote at all before the primary election date. It just says that if you want to participate in some political party's primary, then you have to register to vote in that party's primary by the deadline so they can have the voter lists prepared. Only those voters who register Republican vote in the Republican Primary, only those registered Democrats vote in the Democratic Primary, and so on if there are other party primaries going on. People registered independent do not vote in the primaries; only the General Election.

By the way, you aren't 'enrolled' in a Party. You are registered to participate in a Party Primary. Registration has nothing to do with party membership. It just says you want to vote in a primary. If you want to join a party and participate in its structure and all that stuff, it is your business and your business alone, nothing to do with the Elections office or your voter registration.

Third: they didn't give you 2 days, the deadline has been known and published for a long time. You just noticed the deadline 2 days before that deadline. That is not the Elections office problem, or the fault of the law, or anything else - just you not noticing it and 'blanking out' any public notices broadcast or published in the paper or whatever. If you don't need to make any changes, you don't need to do anything.

Fourth: nominating party preference has absolutely nothing to do with the general election. In the parties primary you only choose between those people who wish to be run for the specified office as the nominee of that party. If there is not more than one person running for an office, there will generally not be a primary for that office (waste of money). So registered Republicans don't vote in the Democratic Primary.

Fifth: you still have some time to get your registration sorted out before the general election - but there will be a deadline for that as well. They do have to 'freeze' the changes, print the voter lists and get them distributed to all the polling places sometime you know. Again, if you don't need to make any changes, then you have nothing to do. You don't need to pick a party for the general election and you can vote for anyone you want. If you need to change your address, then why not do it way ahead of time and avoid the rush?



Note: yes I know some states have 'open primaries' where you aren't restricted to the primary you are registered in. I don't believe New York is one of those. I am prepared to be corrected, of course.

Edit: OK, someone has pointed out that NY has the earliest deadline of all. Don't know what the NY's reasoning is, but I guess that's New York law. I assume its been in place for quite a while so there is really nothing to get upset about. Of course if you want it to change, just complaining about it on the internet isn't the most effective way to go about it.

a reply to: rnaa

Thank you for the clarification. I'm not in New York currently so it doesn't affect me directly. I just found it strange they would need to make the deadline so far from the actual voting date. Your explanation makes it very clear and concise, thank you for that.

I had hoped to reach anyone whom it might affect, but I'm sure it is true , if registered, they would have had a much earlier warning of the deadline.

a reply to: Gothmog

That's not true in every state. Only a few states have open primaries in which you can register (U) Unaffiliated and vote for whoever you want regardless of party. In most states you can only vote for the party for which you registered, including Independent, you can change it but only before a deadline which is also different in every state.

This is the main reason third parties get no more than 1% of the vote, voters are too afraid that they might be throwing their vote away.

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: tiredoflooking

Off the top, I can see one benefit.

It forces a choosing of which party one considers himself a member of.

And cements the 2 party system so that we are in this quagmire forever, us vs them!

a reply to: rnaa

Great post!

If ignorance was a zombie, each paragraph would be a shotgun blast to the head, nay, if ignorance was a vampire, your post would be a super soaker shooting holy water; you words are a hailstorm of silver bullets against the werewolves of the uninformed!


So .. well said, basically.

a reply to: tiredoflooking

Could be wrong but it seems like they had a while to register to vote in the primaries, but even if you register with a party to vote in the primaries nothing says you have to vote for that party when voting for president. NY is pretty screwy in general that goes well beyond the city, but if given enough time to register for primaries and no one is forced to vote for the party they registered for in the general election no biggie.

yeah, a year seems to long I think 90 days would be sufficient.

a reply to: tiredoflooking

Not the official site of the NY State Board. You can find that here

You will need to declare your party affiliation, if you live in New York; because of their Closed Primary System, prior to the primary elections.

According to the NY State Senate, S5958 has placed the State's primary for the 2016 Presidential Elections on April 19th, 2016.

What I am gathering from your link, is the deadline in the State General Election....Here is New York's Political Calendar for 2015


Sounds like misinformation....